Eden Project in China three years behind schedule

Eden Project Qingdao is now due to open in 2023, three years later than planned

The first attempt to build an Eden Project outside the UK is three years behind schedule.

The £150m scheme to build Eden Project Qingdao was first announced during China's state visit to the UK in 2015.

In 2018 the government announced plans to open in 2020 but Eden Project International (EPI) said it was now aiming for 2023, calling the scheme "a learning process".

The original Eden Project was opened in Cornwall in 2001.

A spokesperson for EPI said: "We had originally hoped for it to be completed sooner but the development of a large and unique project in a country where we had never previously worked has been a learning process for us and some things have taken longer than expected.

"This was severely compounded by the challenges of working during the Covid pandemic and the ensuing travel restrictions."

The spokesperson said the fact that some parts of China were still under lockdown would "continue to impact the timeline for construction of the project".

Eden Project Qingdao was still on track to meet its £150m budget, they said.

The Eden Project is planning to build similar schemes around the world

EPI is a subsidiary of the Eden Trust which was set up in 2017 "to drive the establishments of Edens around the world".

The original Eden Project co-founder Tim Smit is its executive chairman and it is planning Eden Projects at four other sites around the UK as well as in Colombia, Costa Rica, Australia and the US.

EPI is working with the Chinese state-owned development firm China Jinmao Holdings Group Limited to deliver Eden Project Qingdao.

It is not clear what the Eden Project's financial stake is in the scheme.

The spokesperson said commercial arrangements are confidential "but the Eden Project will manage and operate Eden Project Qingdao in partnership with our Chinese partners."

The project in China will focus on water, "showing that it is the life blood of nature, culture and civilisation".

The centrepiece of the site will be the storm forest biome which will feature "one of the biggest indoor waterfalls in the world" according to EPI.

The first Eden Project was created on a former industrial site in Cornwall in 2001 and welcomed 1.2 million visitors in its first year.

Plans have been approved for a £125m Eden Project in Morecambe, Lancashire and funding for the project has been promised by Prime Minister Boris Johnson if a "proper business case" is submitted to the government.